Knights Have Taste For Big Time
By Jack Danilewicz
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Castle High junior Sean Lomont
practices his swing. Photo by
Byron Lee, .(JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address)
Even with heavy losses to graduation last spring, it’s still time to address unfinished business for the Castle baseball team.
The Knights were the surprise team of the Wally Yonamine Foundation State Baseball Tournament last May when they shut out Maui High School and Oahu Interscholastic Association Champion Aiea on back-to-back days en route to a fourth-place finish. Only a loss to eventual champion Punahou in the semifinals prevented the Knights from playing for a state title on the last day of the prep baseball season.
“They (the returnees) got a taste of what it’s like (to compete at the highest level),and they want to build on last year,“longtime Castle coach Joe Tom said.“They really want to succeed and get back into states.They have a great attitude, and they’ve worked really hard so far. Attitude has to be strong all the way.”
The Knights’collective resolve was considerable last season, although their faith was sorely tested, as they had to win the “play-in"game of the OIA tournament to earn the league’s fifth and final tournament berth.The Knights, who finished 10-6 overall in 2006,proved themselves up to the task, and they carried the momentum at states into their American Legion League’s season, where they finished as runner-up to Kalani in July.
A handful of key holdovers from 2006 will lead the way for Castle early-on this spring, led by catcher Lyle Kitagawa, infielder/out-fielder Codey Cabael and pitcher Pulama Silva. Silva came up big in the post-season last year, pitching Castle to the aforementioned win over Aiea, and he figures to be one of the OIA’s better throwers with another off-season under his belt. Silva competed for Team Hawaii last October in a national tournament in Arizona. “He throws hard, and he has a good curve ball,“Tom said. “He was an unknown before the Aiea game, but he was on. He’s a competitor, and he’ll be one of our top pitchers.”
Tom also envisions juniors Bryan Raines and Joshua Serrano logging a lot of innings. “They’ll share the load.”
The pitching staff figures to benefit from the return of Kitagawa, whom Tom calls one of the best in the state.“He anchors our defense. He’s a good defensive catcher with a strong arm, and he’s a fierce competitor. He’s one of our strongest bats.” The return of Cabael should also bolster Castle’s offensive production, while in the field he could play any number of positions, according to Tom.
Up the middle, a pair of relative newcomers in Kainoa Tom and Brandon Gross have settled in at shortstop and third base,respectively. They will look to fill the void left by standouts Brandon Kon and Kyle Kanaeholo,who completed their eligibility last May.
“They work well together - they’re going to do a good job,“Tom said.
In the outfield, he expects senior Trevor Okumura and junior Kris Kahanu to hold down starting spots, but elsewhere in the Castle lineup,“we have a lot of people battling for (starting) positions.”
At the plate,the Knights have fared well so far, tallying 35 runs in scrimmages with Saint Louis, Punahou, Aiea and Waianae. “We’re pleased with our progress,” said Tom, who coached Castle to the 1994 state title. “We’ve hit the ball and generated some runs, so that’s been a positive. We still have to shore up our defense, although I’m confident it will be solid.But the offense has been good so far.Various people have been coming through with the bats.”
The Knights continue their pre-season schedule at 4 p.m. Thursday when they host Mid-Pacific in a game that will be part of the Mililani Pre-Season Tournament. Castle also will play games Friday and Saturday as part of the tournament.
Matchups for Thursday and Friday’s games will be depend on the outcome of the Mid-Pac contest.
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